Posted: 2/12/03

FLís Bud Johnson, 81, owned Johnsonís Super Valu in Forest Lake

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

When it came to running a grocery store, not many could do it better than Bud Johnson.

For nearly 50 years, Johnson made his living working in the grocery business at towns in South Dakota and Minnesota. He made his mark in Forest Lake as owner of Budís Red Owl and Johnsonís Super Valu.

Johnson, who moved to Forest Lake in 1967, died on Friday, Feb. 7, 2003 after a long fight with cancer. He was 81.

ìThere was nobody who worked harder,î said Bob Morehead of Forest Lake. Morehead worked 14 years with Johnson as a meat cutter and meat department manager.

In remembering his friend, Morehead said Johnson was a community-based man who gave freely to causes that often werenít known by the general public. If an organization, a non-profit group or a school needed a boost, Johnson would always help, Morehead said.

ìHe was such a community oriented person,î he added. ìPeople didnít know it but heíd often just write stuff off.î

As a grocer, Morehead said Johnson was savvy and won peopleís trust by being able to put names with faces.

ìHe had a strong business mind and understood the business and what it took to make it go,î Morehead said. ìHe had a good mind. He remembered people.î

As a boss, Morehead said Johnson was ìfair and you knew what he expected.î

Rural roots

Johnson was the son of a Norwegian family who lived through the Depression and made personal sacrifices for the family as the eldest of eight children.

He grew up near Blue Earth and found early work on a dairy and bakery. He was just 16 in 1937 when he landed his first job in a Red Owl corporate grocery store. He started learning the business at an early age but saw plans change when war broke out in 1941.

When he turned 21 in 1942, he joined the Army. Because of his Norwegian heritage, he was assigned to the 99th Infantry Battalion Separate, a unit of mostly Norwegian speaking troops that trained for an invasion of Norway that would never come.

But war did come for Johnson who was a medic. Ten days after the Allied landing at Normandy in June of 1944, he was hit by mortar fire while helping wounded troops. He spent more than five months recuperating before rejoining his unit in December of 1944.

He was with his unit for just one week when the German offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge started. Johnson earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his duty in France and Belgium.

At the end of the war in 1945, his Norwegian unit was part of the occupation force in Norway.

Back home

After returning home from the Army in late 1945, he tried his hand at farming for about two years before resuming his career in the grocery business. His first stop was in Clear Lake, SD, where he met Judith, his wife-to-be.

Johnson stayed in Clear Lake until 1955 when he bought the Red Owl store in Ortonville. He remained in Ortonville until 1967 when he bought the Red Owl store in Forest Lake.

Budís Red Owl operated in a brick building on Lake Street in the downtown that stood where the Town Square office building is located today.

In 1978, Johnson relocated the store to the newly opened Northland Mall and made the switch to Johnsonís Super Valu.

It was a family-run store that involved all three Johnson children over the years. Johnson retired in 1987.

Johnson's support of community and military organizations was recognized in 1988 when American Legion Post 225 here honored him as grand marshal of the Independence Day parade.

Johnson served as commander of the Legion Post in Clear Lake and was a member of Post 225 and VFW Post 4210 in Forest Lake. He was also a charter member of Hosanna Lutheran Church here.

Funeral details

A memorial service for Warren ìBudî Johnson will take place 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 15 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 436 N. Roy St., St. Paul. A family visitation is planned one-hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Judith; three children, the Rev. Joy Johnson, Stanley (Cheryl) Johnson, and Anne (Craig) Hansen; grandchildren Karianna, Jinna, Kristie, Courtenay, Joshua, Isaiah, Joel, Benjamin and Jacob; great-granddaughter Mikaylah; one brother, Benjamin Johnson; and one sister, Connie Boettcher.

Memorials are preferred to ELCA Hunger Appeal or Lakeview Hospice.

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